Fell the luvin' :Khooni Murdaa (1989)

While India's Mahakaal is the epitome of an A Nightmare on Elm Street rip-off/plagiarism, from the burnt killer with the very same razor gloves to the plotting, that movie wasn't exactly the first to do it.

I'm pretty sure he's supposed to be burnt.

No, Khooni Murdaa beats it for a few years but, curiously, while it had the kills mimicking ANOES part 1 to 3, the movie can pretty much stand on its own story; the plot revolves around Rekha, a girl who was stalked by a deranged lover Ranjit. The guy has a temper issue the size of the Atlantic Ocean, breaking into a murderous streak whenever she rejects him, proven to us when he watches a couple make-out in their jeep, picturing them as Rekha and a lover, before stabbing them both to death.

Ranjit's crime went noticed and soon got him on trial, but thanks to his insanity plea, he was taken to a mental hospital instead, which he escaped from easily. From there, he searches and finds Rekha camping with her friends, only to meet his demise when they ganged up and beat him to their bonfire.

Now with a charred body of a dead maniac, the gang decided to stuff his body in a nearby wreckage instead of going to the police, fearing of getting themselves incarcerated. But even beyond death, Ranjit's obsession for Rekha's far from over and his burnt corpse is out for revenge.

In terms of ANOES rip-offing, Khooni Murdaa only went on copying some of the kills from the series instead of directly ripping off the whole plot. If I would say so, it almost felt like watching a plot similar to House on Sorority Row, or an early version of I Know What you did Last Summer, where kids done a terrible deed and pays it in full price with their life. That being mentioned, I find this entry a decent bunch even though packing the same cheesiness any Bollywood films would include like five minute musical dance routines and the ever present kung-fu action. (one of which was thrown in randomly at the near end)

Even the killer's far from a Freddy clone, with his appearance looked less like the nightmare man and more of Mitch from Doom Asylum with his zombie-like make-up (albeit cheap), his arsenals include long razor fingernails (both hands) in place of a killer glove, as well as laser eyes and the ability to control the winds with his breath (thankfully done very little) and his witty one-liners replaced with pieces of romantic curses and spends the rest of the movie evil laughing.

Bow down to the Puppet Master!

Whilst Mahakaal's hodge-podge whackiness of all things comedic, horrific and cheesy made it a unique experience, Khooni's didn't blend in too well due to its overwhelming serious tone, making the cheesiness of the effects as well as some bits of added comic relief felt out-of-place, hindering the film from being any better. (In fact, that darn comic relief kinda ruined the ending for me!) Perhaps this is the only problem that kept me from rating it any higher; thankfully the 70s/80s exploitation feel of the movie did preserved whatever charm left this Bollywood movie had to offer.

bodycount:
1 male and 1 female knifed to death with buck knife
1 male burned alive, beaten with wooden poles
1 female had holes burned on her chest with ghostly laser eyes (for real)
1 male hanged
1 male tossed off a window, fell to his death
1 female had her head bashed into TV
1 female clawed to death
1 male pulled into a hole, killed
1 male falls to his death
1 male impaled with spear
1 female had her back clawed open
total: 12

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About Me

I'm a Filipino Nerd with a penchant for all things weird, messy and overly theatrical. Loves to draw, write, and read at a highschool level.
Has a thing for slashers, monsters, comic books, Doctor Who and collecting knick-knacks such as a certain line of toys based on a 2010 reboot of an 80s cartoon about talking, rainbow colored ponies.